All Warranties---New and used cars.

[scaniaman]

There are several threads about people who have difficulties in getting repairs done under warranty.

If it's something that's broken then work is often carried out OK.

But on modern cars malfunctions occur where nothing is broken or prematurely worn out, neither is faulty workmanship to blame.

Modern cars are so highly technical, and dealers staff resort to diagnastic computers to sus out the malfunction, often without success. I can bear witness to that.

[Hammy1962]

And your point is..............................

 

Hammy

[scaniaman]

You mean YOU don't know what my point is??

[heliosuk]

The main problem is dealership staff not understanding what they are looking at. As you say, if it’s obviously broken then it’s usually ok however all too often, in the case where systems are controlled electronically they just plug in the diagnostic computer and unless the fault code comes up then they say there is nothing wrong with it. What they don’t do is go to the next step and ask why the customer has complained, forgetting that if everything was ok then they wouldn’t be looking at it in the first place. I can count numerous instances where a code has come up time and time again, where the code registers a fault and they change the part only for it to re-occur a few days or even hours later. I recently went to look at one vehicle that had been in 17 times for the same fault only to point out that the data logged should have given them a clue as to what actually was wrong. What had happened was the dealer automatically assumed that because the code said it was faulty it must have been yet didn’t follow the procedure to verify it. They then don’t understand what else can cause it, like electrical tolerance stacks or systems where one part on the edge of being a failure is compensated for so the system is not running at close to nominal but at the edge of the tolerance band.

Frequently the lack of knowledge is not down to the technician but because dealers won’t pay for them to go on courses or don’t want to absorb the lost opportunity in terms of labour sales then it’s inevitable that the level of technical knowledge and ability will fall far short of what is required to accurately maintain vehicles today. Then there is the scenario of those dealers who do invest the time and money in training technicians who then go on to leave as they are paid in comparison to a salesman something like 50% less. I’ve read some interesting reports in the past where dealers run by ex service managers generally perform better in terms of customer satisfaction and right first time fixes than those from a sales background however the profitability was not as good.

It’s unfortunate as well that all too often the manufacturers management of aftersales is not run by people who know what aftersales is but by accountants and sales people. And don’t get me started on Customer service centres for the industry as unfortunately in most cases you might as well talk to Donald Duck!!

BTW, the French marques seem to be expert in this!

[scaniaman]

Thank you Heliosuk, My POINT stated in your usual eloquent fashion.

The terms of warranties need urgent change to reflect the massive involvement of elecrtonics in vehicle engine management systems. Some manufacturers only pay for a maximum of two hours investigateive work, which in all too many cases is totally insufficient. The large dealers don't care enough for their "Bread and Butter" customers to carry on this work unpaid by manufacturers.

So the big question is, where do we start in getting makers and dealers to honour their obligations???

Edited March 22, 2010 by scaniaman

[Hammy1962]

Blimey, the fish bite quick North of the border............................

 

Hammy

[Hammy1962]

Arnold Clark is most visited dealer website

 

Hammy

[heliosuk]

Probably to try to find out how to complain Hammy!! It's probaly a link that goes round in circles with a stop button and a pop up that says we got your money so don't give a monkeys.